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Aug 26, 2011

Friday, August 26, 2011 James Sajdak

Theme: Cutting some Zs. Each of the theme answers is a phrase containing the letter "Z" which is removed and is replaced by the pluralized D sound to make a similar sounding but very different phrase, fraught with humor. This is the third James Sajdak puzzle I have had the pleasure of blogging, and like his June 24, 2011 farmhouse puzzle, sound has much to do with the theme. In his interview, Mr. Sajdak, who is an English teacher by trade, emphasized his goal was to entertain, so he fits in perfectly for the Corner and myself. Let's see where he takes us today, P.S., shh but it is Lemonade here as the tour guide today.

20A. Easy-to-use sock drawer organizer?:PEDS DISPENSER. This morphed from PEZ DISPENSER, the famous collectable candy holding toy, into a really nice image of a drawer shooting out little socks, PEDS being footie socks.

28A. Dog show eye-catchers?: COOL BREEDS. COOL BREEZE. As you can see the changed word can be first or second and the replacement is not just D for Z, but to accomplish the sound.

36A. Feline alpha groups?: TOP PRIDES. TOPPRIZE; we know lions come in prides, do other cats?48A. "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions" : QUEEN SIDES. QUEEN SIZE. A song on one side of a 45; these are two by the irrepressible late, great FREDDY MERCURY. I wonder where the idea that royalty meant bigger? Why are there no Jack sized beds?

56. Winter Olympics winner's wall hanging?: BLADES OF GLORY. This theme is going out in a BLAZE OF GLORY, unlike theMOVIE, which brought a new dimension to the world of Olympic pairs skating; funny or lame?

Across:

1. Henri's here: ICI. We begin in my wheelhouse with a simple French word, which means "here."

46. St. Louis team, familiarly: THE RAMS. Football team that moved from LA, after starting originally in Cleveland.

47. Ancient kingdom on the Tigris: ASSYRIA. Modern Iraq.

49. Sign on: ENLIST. We daily bloggers enlist, after we are drafted.

50. Star of France: ETOILE. Just another lesson, STAR = ETOILE.

51. Bakery utensil: SIFTER. Must get the flour flowing.

55. Discharge: EGEST. From the Latin gerere to carry, with the prefix E, which means from; so literally to carry from. A fancy way of saying pooping. DIgest goes in, Egest goes out.

57. Price or Battle: DIVA. Opera stars Leontyne and Kathleen.

58. Genesis grandson: ENOS. More Bible, a son of Seth, the third child of Adam and Eve.

59. H.S. courses: SCIS. Sciences.

60. Cook quickly, in a way: ZAP. Microwave mania.

61. Three-switch railroad track section: WYE. The word is very descriptive of the tracks coming together, and featured in this MOVIE, which was suspenseful, but like the blog has a happy ending (or does it?). I finished another Friday, did not hurt myself and get to watch Devin and his band play again tonight. They had four paying gigs this month, the most yet. Have a great week end and celebrate, and for those in the path of Irene, we pray the cold front pushes her out to sea. Take care.

47 comments:

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I immediately got ICI, so thought I was in for an easy run ~ NOT! Not being a sci-fi fan, EMPATH was a complete unknown.

My favorite clue was Rolls in the Grass = SOD.

Nice shout-out to our non-MANAIC, Mainaic!

To all in the path of Hurricane Irene: Some advice from a hurricane veteran ~ The power and force of these storms is frightening. PLEASE heed all warnings. If you are ordered to evacuate, please do so. Don't stay on the second floor of your house if there are trees nearby. If you can, move your vehicles in advance to a place without trees and not flood-prone (even if it's away from your home). Stock up on water, candles, flashlights! Fill up your gas tank incase you need to leave the area. Stay safe.

QOD: The reason I talk to myself is that I'm the only one whose answers I accept. ~ George Carlin

This was no walk in the park today, but in the end I only had one error. Sci-fi psychic & appearance announcement outside of my purview today. Wagged an E where the crossing P should have appeared. When Lemonade showed the way, I felt pretty dumb.

Hand up for Rolls in the Grass/Sod as today's favorite.

If I picked up on the theme, life would have been a lot easier, but I seldom decipher a theme. Had matures initially for grows but the MAT just didn't work! Eventually got back on track with accrues.

Lots of prep work to do for the coming storm. Worried about length of time power will be out. We're in a remote area, sparsely populated and depending on the storms severity, we could be ignored for a while. Be safe everyone.

To the puzzle, I was upset that I couldn't get the Craps Table Tactic Clue. Having played for years, I have always called this type of move "press" or "press it". Don't think I have ever heard anyone say Parlay at the Craps table.

Good morning, TGIF or whatever trips your trigger. Thanks for a very informative blog of a nice offering from Mr. Sajdak.

I picked my way around this one, running into deadends everywhere until I got enough in the southern part to see BLADES OF GLORY and knew what to look for in the theme. The rest of the theme entries fell easily and opened up my remaining deadends.

I didn't know ICI, but ETOILE was a gimme. I really wanted some sort of acronym that was associated with the S AND L scandals, but it filled itself and I parsed it OK.

SMA was my first thought and then I started second guessing myself since there wasn't a specific reference to a Scot or Scotland. I finally decided the word 'wee' is a close enough association to things Scot and moved on.

Gee, where do I get one of those fancy PEDS DISPENSER's? Just push a button and out pops a pair. Are they made by Sock It To Me, inc?

DNF today. I never would have got that theme in a thousand years. The only proper nouns I knew were ENOS, YALTA, ASSYRIA, and I WAGged IVAN I. My first fills were the French, and German ZWEI, but I didn't know the ship SPEE. Had INFLAME for INSPIRE, which of course threw all the top to the wind. I'm getting sick of so many acronyms.

I also liked SOD, but not too much else. I got through the sudoku much faster than the time used on this.

I hope all in Irene's path stay safe and take all needed precautions. Check in with us after she's passed so we know you're OK.

Needed red letter help today with EMPATH and DIVA. Everything else was doable. Got SANDL from the perps. Sussed out the theme Z ⇒ Ds in mid solve, but it was not needed. ASS was clever. Good Friday challenge.

Graf SPEE - Most sources term it a pocket battleship. In German, a Panzerschiff. German for battleship is Schlagschiff. The Bismarck was a Schlagschiff. The difference is mainly in displacement tonnage, brought on by terms of the post WWI Treaties. Graf SPEE was basically a cruiser hull but much more heavily armed. Another oddity was that it had Diesel engines making bunkering more difficult; battleships were usually powered by steam and could burn heavy black oil.

Tough one today. Got everything but the "p" at the crossing of EPODE and PARLAY. Two complete unknowns to me.

Minor grumbles over the cluing of EMPATH as "Sci-fi psychic." The word certainly existed and is often used outside of sci-fi; given such a specific context, I was really expecting a name (and had the answer been TROI, would've worked).

The theme was clever, but extra challenging in that the Z was substituted in many different ways, not just a letter-for-letter swap. Sometimes a DS, sometimes the ZE became just a D. Because of that, I wasn't entirely sure until the end that I'd accurately figured it out -- I just knew it had something to do with changing the Z to something else.

As for right turn on red, I don't believe that's a Florida-specific traffic rule. I think it's national, enacted as a fuel-saving measure back in the 70s, and the only place I know of where it isn't allowed at all is New York City (signs alert you to the exception when you cross the city line).

Wow, that was easy! Now I think I’ll go translate some Archie comics into Farsi! What a workout and a great feeling to “git ‘er done”. Thanks James!

Musings-Unknowns but still got – ICI, EMPATH, TARA (cluing), SPEE, SMA-Plus sizes is another euphemism for Queen sizes and Wal-Mart is now charging more for 2X and up-I doubt if the word PARLAY is ever uttered at a crap table in lieu of “Let it ride!”-LED/LCD? I went the wrong way at first-Track position missteps – TAIL (follow) and SHOW (come in third)-I have read in many places that some feel an ailing FDR gave the Soviets too much at Yalta-TOILES for VOILES-Great When Harry Met Sally link, Lemon. Best line from that movie –“I’ll have what she’s having!” uttered by Rob Reiner’s mother-Sarajevo ain’t in SERBIA-John Wayne played a Seabee and charged a Japanese gun position in a bulldozer-Ever hear of Elvis the Pelvis’ younger brother ENOS?

Yeah, a tough one. The theme answers were clever once you got them, but hard for me to figure out on their own.I especially like "voiles"...my first choice, though I started to second guess myself with "gauzes" for awhile.

Dennis: People did not take the warnings about Andrew seriously enough and there are STILL whole swaths of bare foundations where homes once were. We hope and pray that she turns NE...but your officials are being responsible in warning you of potential life-threatening events. I hope you dodge the bullet, but just in case, be prepared. You know the old saw "Better to be safe than squashed by the roof or mugged by someone who didn`t listen and ran out of food/drinking water."

Nice job, Lemonade. Speaking of asses, there is an oblique reference to that beast of burden in the poem that inspired both my farm name and Corner avatar name. Guesses, anyone? Maybe CA will link to the poem (again) as an aid.

anon@11:34, I appreciate the comments. In spite of my joke yesterday about riding out the non-earthquake earthquake, I think I've about done all I can here. I'm putting down almost a thousand pounds of sandbags between the store and the warehouse, got all the outside stuff in at the house, plenty of non-perishable food/water/batteries/lights, and backup reservations at a Marriott about 40 miles the other side of Philly, which we'll use if the forecast looks the same or worse tomorrow afternoon.

My preference would be to stand in the front yard and enjoy it. There's something very awe-inspiring when Mother Nature has a big one. So to speak.

Good Morning All, Phew.. I got it all filled in, but the theme floated over my head and away with the BREEZE. (Oh, that was the idea! ...sound of V-8 thunk to forehead.)

I had no notion of the Druid connection for TARA. I thought that the hill was the ancient seat of the kings of Ireland. Thanks Lemonade for the link to the Wiki article. The Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny) photo was an eye-poppper. Those ancient Celts didn't mess around. No mistaking the symbolism there.

Once again it was the little words that hung me up. SMA, AQI, PPS, WYE, EMI and NSA messed me up for a while.

It's only 10:AM here and I'm going to have to close the windows and turn on the AC. It isn't so hot, but there is another wildfire in Yosemite and the smoke is aimed right in our direction. My eyes are getting irritated.

Good Afternoon, folks. Well, James, this was quite a puzzle. After I finished it I felt better. Thank you Lemonade for a great write-up.

I always start in the NW corner. Lo, and behold, the first clue was for a French word. That got me started in a bad mood. I really think English language crosswords should be in English. Nevertheless, I eventually got it, ICI.

My first theme answer was QUEENSIDES. That helped me get all the rest. SPEE was easy. We had that a short while back.

VOILES was a wag. I had BEATER first, then switched to SIFTER. WYE with perps. ETOILE with perps. I must reiterate, foreign words should not be used.

My last holdout area was the NW. Initially I had A PED DISPENSER. Once I figured that out, and entered PEDS DISPENSER, all the rest fell into place.

I agree with others that SMA was a very tricky answer for WEE. Got it with perps.

I made it through my hernia surgery yesterday. I am sore, but it appears I will be OK. The doctor even gave me a picture (of my insides) of the hernia before he fixed it. Unbelievable.

very pleased to hear you are already on the mend. pretty awesome month with earthquakes, hurricanes and lots of ancient Irish stuff. Dennis and all the New England crew, do be careful; here in Broward people did not take Wilma seriously, and as Fred would tell you, that was a mistake. fill up all cars with gas and bathtubs with water to used to flush toilets, if necessary.

Good afternoon Lemonade, CC, et al., Loved the write up, Lemonade. Such a great job! Thank you. But a theme? What theme! But now I understand. Cute, cute, cute!

I LOL'd w/40A's Ass comment. There sure are a lot of Asses in the Bible and Mary rode Joseph's all the way to Bethlehem. Had to be a rough trip...esp for Joseph. Poor guy.

Love Bohemian Raphsody. Usually give that as a present to my piano students as soon as I can. It is so fun and a great motivator.

Well, Irene is coming and I'm staying. An unexpected death & funeral kept me from leaving. Bad timing! School was closed early but most of the necessary goods are sold out or the lines are horrendous. I don't flood but I live in Colony Pines AKA Colossal Pines...very tall pines-even those 3 houses over will hit my house.

Dennis: I hope you don't flood and that Irene loses some of her oomph before you get it. Altho' that's not likely b/c she's a real beeeeotch. Might be a great time to run outside stark naked for that tempting blow but just be safe.

Argyle: I hope you are safe as well. Do you flood or are trees your main concern?

Isn't it Momspeaksout who lives in NC and harms way too? I wish all of us safe passage through this scary event.

This was one of those puzzles where I walk away for a while and come back "enlightened." Somewhat of a challenge but very enjoyable to solve! I caught the theme with COOL BREEDS and TOP PRIDES and the others followed after a bit. The top center hung me up until my guesses at PARLAY and EPODE helped fill it in. The crossing of ZWEI and WYE and ASS and AQI were my trouble spots. I needed to come here to get those. Thanks, Lemonade for your usual informative and entertaining write-up!

~~ Favorites were 'Rolls in the grass,' 'Bandit feature' and 'Appearance announcement.'

~~ Had no idea on S AND L ... I never seem to see those.

~~ Glad you're doing well, Abejo!

~~ It's been a beautiful day ... hard to imagine the change that's in store for us ~~

Hello everybody. Say, I have an idea. Let's only present puzzles that are comprised of foreign (not English) words, acronyms, and abbreviations. Best wishes to you all. Clear Ayes, thanks for your conributions.

Hi all,This was very hard, I didn't get much done but enjoyed Your write-up Lemonade.

I remember the Yalta meetings. Thanks Argyle for the map.I was 13and we heard it on the radio and could watch News of everything when we went to the movies.Not quite as handy as T V but it was what we had.

I didn't care much for sma, and my sound went off when when I was watching Graf Spee.

Husker, plus size clothes have always been more expensive than ladies sizes. Believe me, I've been buying them for years.

I usually don't post this late as I'm never sure it will be read but I seldom get time to do it earlier in the day.

The smoke has cleared a little, so we hope the Yosemite fire has been brought under control. Unfortunately, there isn't anything humans can do to control hurricanes.

Dennis, don't be tempted to go outside when those winds are blowing. I was watching a demonstration on this evening's news of what happens to people in high winds. After about 50 MPH you can't stand up and if it gets up to 90 MPH, you can literally be blown away.

Be careful and stay safe to everyone on the east coast. Check into the blog when you can and let us know how you are doing.

Not sure why my early Birthday wishes for Lemonade didn't post or got erased; but Lemonade's birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday. You mentioned you might not have access to a computer while in Orlando trying those new brews. I hope he names one after you!! I'll try again, BIG SSSMMMOOOCCCHHH for you!!!